The Wild, Intricate Animated Gifs of Javier Arres

Javier Arres, an illustrator and graphic designer living in Madrid, Spain, crafts animated GIFs that often depict hyperdetailed, fantastical machines. The artist has his own moniker for these animations: “visual toys.” Whether it’s a wild coffee-maker or a roving entertainment bus, the artist builds GIFs that require dozens of loops to fully comprehend.

The artist’s traditional illustrations are also something to behold, as several hold even more intricacy and secrets than their animated counterparts. The bold work carries hints of Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python animations, steampunk fare, and sci-fi surrealism. The artist’s website shows work from the last couple years, but it seems that the GIFs are a recent interest of Arres, who only had a handful displayed.

Several of the pieces carry broad messages, in the form of single words. The most common is “Nuevo,” which means “new” in Spanish. While it’s most common in the illustrations, you’ll also find it on the flag of the airplane flying by the artist’s massive ice cream cone ship. Though its meaning isn’t immediately clear, this detail does offer yet another tiny gem hidden in the work of Javier Arres.